Why I Knit the Same Sweater Twice

...or, when you sense something's wrong with your knitting, frog it. Don't keep going on telling yourself it'll be fine, when a little voice in the back of your head keeps saying it won't :)

So last summer I started Buttercup with 7 skeins of Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy - six skeins of one dyelot and a seventh of a different, noticeable darker dyelot. I told myself it'd be okay, and started the top-down sweater with the one odd skein. After starting the second skein the difference was very noticeable and I frogged the sweater with plans to make it again this summer. (You can see my original post here.)

I decided to try the sweater again this summer. In a fit of brilliance (not!) I decided that instead of using the one odd skein by itself in the first half, I'd alternate rows with another skein. Let me just say, bad idea. I somehow convinced myself it was okay and finished the sweater.



You can see the striping in this photo. Also, the neckline was too low for my taste - it just looked weird with a shell under it. I like my sweaters to be about 15" from the underam to the hem. After trying it on, I decided that even though the sweater was about 2" short of that, it felt okay, and bound off. Another bad idea. It was too short, ending at the widest part of my hips, not flattering at all.



I decided to try again, with only the six balls of yarn, and using option B of the pattern, which has a higher neckline. I also decided to make the body length 15", and not go by the try-on length. I'm so glad I tried again, because I love this sweater!



Pattern: Buttercup by Heidi Kirrmaier
Yarn: Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy, color 14, 6 skeins
Needles: US 4 & US 5



This is the second time I've used this yarn, and I love it. It's a bit rough to work with, but it wears incredibly well, and makes a very comfortable sweater.



I finished this in late summer and didn't get a lot of time to wear it before fall, but I hope to enjoy it next year.

And I'm so glad for this lesson that I was able to use this past weekend. I was working on my Tree Jacket and made a mistake which I realized a few rows afterwards. I tried to brush it off, but finally decided to rip a few rows and fix the mistake. I'm so glad I did, because the mistake would have thrown off the pattern of the whole sweater yoke.



I'm absolutely loving this knit, and the Cascade Venezia - it's sooo soft and silky smooth!

Josephine Top

I finished the Josephine Top, and I've worn it quite a bit.



This is the first time I've made a garment on size 4 needles, and I really like the thinner material you get with the thinner yarn. The Karabella Vintage Cotton was really nice to knit with, too - soft and silky. Definately a cotton I'd use again.



I finished the front and back, and then let them sit for a couple weeks before doing the finishing. I wish I would have done it right away - I could have worn it a few more times when the weather was warmer. We had our first real fall day today - I don't think it got above 65 degrees - and it's soooo nice! Almost cold enough to wear fall sweaters.



Here's the Specs:

Pattern: Josephine Top from Interweave Knits Summer 2007
Yarn: Karabella Vintage Cotton, color 320, 6 balls.
Needles: US 4 (3.5 mm)
Modifications: The empire and a-line top styles do not look good on me so I made changes for the fit. I cast on the number of stitches required for the 36" bust, and increased to the number required for the 40" bust when I got to the bodice. I also continued the textured lace pattern to the armholes, and switched to the textured purl stitch pattern just before I began the armhole shaping. I was hoping this would work out well, and I'm so glad it did.

And, here's one more photo - thanks to my sister Priscilla for doing the photo shoot with me.